Turkey PM to quit as Erdogan tightens grip

ANKARA: Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday announced he would step down in two weeks as ruling party chief and premier, in a shock exit set to further boost President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s growing powers. Divisions between Davutoglu and Erdogan that had been rumored for months burst into the open on Wednesday, with the two leaders holding crisis talks at the presidential palace that failed to resolve the conflict. Davutoglu said after a central executive committee meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) that the party would hold an extraordinary congress on May 22 and he would not be standing for a new mandate. This means that the Premier – who headed the government since 2014 when Erdogan moved from the premiership to the presidency – will step aside from his twin jobs of AKP boss and Prime Minister and the Congress will choose a new leader.